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Opinion
Mark Trahant: Starting new year off with correction


"I'd like to start the New Year by correcting a mistake. Actually two mistakes. A couple of weeks ago I wrote a column and suggested we get rid of paper dollars and instead use coins.

"I read your editorial and found it interesting," wrote a reader. "I find any story about numismatics interesting, primarily because the information contained within is rarely correct. It seems that whenever the price of gold or silver makes any kind of significant move, or a new coin design is forthcoming, the newspapers throw together a story or editorial riddled with inaccuracies. While your editorial was rather tame in that respect, errors were made."

The first error was a dumb one: Nearly a billion Susan B. Anthony coins were produced -- not the million I said. I just looked at the number wrong.

The other error sits on my desk, too. I compared the Susan B. Anthony coin to the Sacagawea -- and said they were different sizes. That's not true. They are the same size (and weight, for that matter) but the gold-toned Sacagawea has a smoother edge with a wide rim. It just looks different."

Get the Story:
Mark Trahant: Dubious Who's Who in Wikipedia (The Seattle Post-Intelligencer 1/1)

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